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3 AM Arrival in Santorini OK?

This summer, we will likely be arriving on Santorini at 3 AM (from the island of Milos), Will it be a problem arriving without any place to stay, or does a late arrival like this one necessitate lining something up in advance? I've disembarked on Greek islands before (at around the same time of year) and there's usually a lot of vendors of hostels/hotels/apartments standing and waiting for the disembarking passengers to choose their accomodations. Same thing on Santorini? Same thing at 3 AM?

If it's a question of possibly not finding a room this late at night, of course I will pre-book.

Any time there is a ferry coming in there will be taxis and a few people waiting at the port with rooms to rent. The problem with Santorini is you could end up just about anywhere rather than the part of the island you wish to stay. Since it will be practically morning when you arrive, it may be a good idea to hang out in an all night cafe at the port and look for somewhere a little later.

I'm sure clausar is correct, but there may be a minivan or two waiting to pick up a client getting off the ferry who has booked a room in their hotel. If you see a minivan with a hotel name on the side, just walk up and ask if they have a vacancy. I've found rooms that way on other islands (albeit not at 3am).

I don't like arriving on a ferry in the middle of the night because it ruins me for the next day. The Sea jets catamaran is scheduled to arrive on Santorini at 11:25am. It has its drawbacks, but at least arrives at a civilised hour.

Thanks, everyone. It's nice to know there's always a bus ready even if we do decide to take the 3 am arrival ship from Milos.

However, as Heimdall mentions, there's a seajet arriving from Milos the following day at 11:30 AM. The only reason I thought about the 3 am arrival is because it's a lot cheaper. But seeing as how if we leave Milos at 11 pm or so and get to Santorini at 3 am, we will be exhausted and probably sleep half the day away, which we don't want to do. We want to get out and see the sites, so in the end maybe paying at extra $50 and staying in Milos the night before is the better idea.

(To be honest, although I'm of course excited to see Santorini, it's my travel partner who really wants to go there). If it were up to me, I think I would extend our trip to Milos, which at this point is 2 nights (3 if we decide to do the next-morning seajet) and 2 full days.